Coursera (NYSE:COUR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Coursera (NYSE:COUR) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Sunday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on COUR. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Coursera in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Coursera from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Coursera from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.50 price objective on shares of Coursera in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Coursera in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Coursera has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.55.

Coursera Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COUR opened at $6.12 on Friday. Coursera has a 1-year low of $5.00 and a 1-year high of $12.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.57 and a 200-day moving average of $5.83. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.13, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.24.

Coursera (NYSE:COUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $298.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $293.61 million. Coursera had a negative return on equity of 2.08% and a negative net margin of 15.39%.The company’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Coursera will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Coursera declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 55.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Alan B. Cardenas sold 9,139 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.52, for a total value of $50,447.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 255,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,412,755.68. This trade represents a 3.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Insight Holdings Group, Llc sold 1,466,372 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.24, for a total transaction of $7,683,789.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 419,784 shares in the company, valued at $2,199,668.16. The trade was a 77.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 2,009,139 shares of company stock valued at $10,643,180 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 16.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coursera

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Coursera by 1.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 70,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Coursera by 63.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,152 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in Coursera by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Coursera by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 26,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Coursera by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 104,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares during the last quarter. 89.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coursera Company Profile

Coursera, Inc (NYSE:COUR) operates a leading online learning platform that delivers courses, specializations, professional certificates and fully accredited degree programs in collaboration with top universities and industry partners. Founded in 2012 by Stanford University professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, Coursera’s mission is to provide universal access to world-class education and bridge skill gaps in a rapidly evolving job market.

The platform features more than 6,000 offerings created by over 275 academic institutions and corporate entities, spanning fields such as data science, business, technology, health care and the arts.